COWPOKE DAY

This summer has been really busy, Between working, running a small farm, writing, and my volunteer stuff, I've hardly had time for myself.

I did have fun doing COWPOKE DAY for the Molalla Community school. There were about 10 little buckaroos ready to learn about saddling a pony and milking a goat. Willie, the mini horse, was provided by the local Junior Court. They taught the class how to put on a bridle and saddle. They explained the different parts of the horse and taught a little roping. I brought my mini nubian goat, Airplane Ears, for the milking lesson. Airplane Ears, however, had other ideas. We had us a little goat rodeo before my husband took her home. We did manage to get in a little milking. I had brought homemade goat cheese and fresh goat ice cream that was a big hit. Then we all headed into the conference room in the library for crafts, singing cowboy songs and story time.

We ended the day with singing: HAPPY TRAILS.

Colony Days in Aurora, Oregon was a blast! I did a book signing at the Aurora Museum and talked history to a lot of vacationers and locals. I love to talk about history and genology while I sell my books. It was a perfect day for me.

The time has come for my husband and I to relax. It's Vacation Time! We are leaving on our packed down BMW Motorcycles and headed to Nevada. We plan on camping for a week in remote places and capturing a little bit of the old Cowboy and Indian atmosphere.

Happy Trails

Allie Jo

I believe my book has been doing fairly well. It was written for children ages 9-14 (middle grade). However, I am finding that the adults like it too. I am being asked for volume two (which is in the writing process) from the people who bought volume one, "Trail to Tomorrow".

My Brother's Granddaughter dressed up for the- Allie Jo look- and I think she did a great job.

All of this is great and wonderful and I feel that I am on top of the world. But my world is small. I have not ventured outside of my small community where I am loved and supported by my friends, neighbors and family.

Now comes the hard part. I have to go out into the world where nobody knows me or loves me and market my book. Out in the big world I know that I am nothing more than another author trying to peddle my wares. My nerves quiver at the thought of beating the streets, so-to-speak, and having to COWBOY UP. And that is what I'll have to do. I will put on my hat and boots and my cowgirl outfit and hit the marketing streets.

TRAIL TO TOMORROW is being sold at Amazon.com, Target.com and Geri's Little Book Club in Molalla, OR. Also, my book can be found at the Aurora Colony Museum in Aurora Oregon where I will be doing a book signing and storytime on Saturday August 8, 2009 from 11am-4pm. It is during the Aurora Colony Days Celebration. A big event for Aurora.

HERE WE GO! WISH ME LUCK!

MY BOOK IS DONE!!

TRAIL TO TOMORROW

My book Trail to Tomorrow is now at Amazon. com.

Westward Ho!

When Allie Jo's family sets out to move to New Mexico, she finds her dream of being a real cowboy isn't quite what she thought it would be.

Trailing in the drag position behind a herd of Longhorns, she learns about dust, tedium, storms and stampedes.

But none that is as hard as keeping her secret from a young cattle drover.

Allie may be riding as a boy, but her heart is still all girl.

Early Morning Cup of Coffee

My Mother, Margie, and her horse Boots likes to get attention.

She grew up on horses living on the family farm in Western Arkansas.

Margie has always had a passion for horses. She also has always had a passion for poetry.

She has written several poems over the years. My favorite is Early Morning Cup of Coffee.

EARLY MORNING CUP OF COFFEE

I'm sitting on the front porch in my swing

It's as if I can see almost everything

The birds are eating berries from the mulberry tree

They sing so sweetly, as if they're singing just for me

Two red birds just walked across the lawn

And 4 squirrels been playing out there since early dawn

They chase each other round and round

They scamper up a tree, and then scamper down

Sometimes they jump from limb to limb

I never get tired of watching them

Sometimes I see a Mother deer and her fawn

They seem so content eating grass from my lawn

They keep their distance, but still they can see

Me watching them and them watching me

All in all it's a great place to be

early in the morning, while having my coffee.

Written by:

Margie Howard Semiche

June 9, 2005

Happy Trails

Last spring (2008) my husband and I joined a cattle drive at the Burnt Well Ranch in Roswell, New Mexico so I could gain authentic experience and add it to my cowgirl story.

Kim Chesser, Owner of Burnt Well Ranch, www.burntwellquestranch.com leads us back to the ranch singing our cowboy songs. I admit, we did not know a lot of old-time cowboy songs but we did sing about Jed Clampet, Petticoat Junction and the like.

We had the most wonderful time. We slept out under the stars in our bedrolls and ate camp food cooked on an open fire by Patricia Chesser. She is one heck of a chuck wagon cook.

My name is Carrol Haushalter

I began earning writing credits with articles in the Co-op newspaper in Ponderay, Idaho.

After relocating to Molalla, Oregon, I pursued my writing in earnest, creating several children's stories. My most popular, Henry Goes to Church, is a regular feature of the story time I present, sometimes with Henry, my mini Nubian, as part of the Education Committee at my church, The Molalla United Methodist.

I am a member of the "Friends of the Library" and write a monthly article on the library for the local newspaper.

Stories of my great-grandmother's journey from Texas to New Mexico as part of a cattle drive inspired me to begin to explore the old west through my novel The Adventures of Allie Jo. Watch for publication date on www.bohobooks.com

The adventures of Allie Jo is about a young girl who finds herself part of a cattle drive as her family moves west. Allie Jo learns to cope with dust, stampedes and quick sand as she rides from Texas to New Mexico. Although she may be disguised as a boy, her heart is all girl in the presence of a certain cattle drover.

To add authencity to Allie Jo's story, my husband and I joined an actual cattle drive in 2008 with a ranch in New Mexico.

My entire family is from Arkansas which is where my great-grandparents moved to from New Mexico in 1912 when New Mexico became a state. It just so happened that my great-grandfather's mother was from Arkansas, the same area that all my family lives to this day.

However, there are a few of us strays that have ventured away from home, but our hearts still belong to our down-home cowboys.